Fans have always been furious over this 'Game of Thrones' plotline – and it's not hard to see why

The seventh season of HBO's "Game of Thrones" brought more bloodshed to the already-shrinking cast of characters when Euron Greyjoy attacked Yara and the Sand Snakes (Tyene, Nymeria, and Obara) in a gigantic sea battle.

The two biggest characters we saw get the axe — or whip and dagger, to be more precise — were Obara and Nymeria Sand, the bastard daughters of Oberyn Martell. But the response to their death wasn't the usual shock and grief. Instead, people seemed either gleeful or just over it when it came to the Sand Snakes.

The loathing of Dorne's femme fatales began during the fifth season, and continued into seasons six and now seven. Ellaria Martell's mission for vengeance is a hugely misdirected set of choices that go against everything her dead lover, Oberyn, would have wanted. There is literal character butchery happening alongside the destruction of theoretical character development.

It's one of the few storylines in HBO's adaptation of the book series which has outright failed in fans' eyes. To fully explain why, we have to turn to the books.

The Sand Snakes in the books are a lot different

In the book series, Oberyn Martell — the Red Viper who represents Tyrion in his trial-by-combat and loses — has seven bastard daughters. As a group, they are referred to as the Sand Snakes, a play on the local bastard surname "Sand" and Oberyn's snake symbol.

Ellaria Sand is Oberyn's most recent romantic partner and the mother to several of his bastards. Naturally, Ellaria and the Sand Snakes are devastated by Oberyn's death in the books and the show. Dorne's people are also still gravely bitter over the death of Elia Martell, Oberyn's sister and wife to Rhaegar Targaryen. She was raped and murdered, along with her children, during the sack of King's Landing back when Robert Baratheon seized the Iron Throne.

Oberyn Martell (Pedro Pascal) and Ellaria on the fourth season. HBO

Prince Doran is Oberyn's older brother, and the ruler of Dorne. Though Dorne is technically part of the Seven Kingdoms and therefore loyal to the crown, they still retain customs of regional titles like "prince" and "princess."

So Prince Doran is in charge, and he has three children in the books: Arianne, Quentyn, and Trystane. Princess Arianne is the eldest, and most rebellious, child. Dorne has an equal hierarchy when it comes to inheriting power, so Arianne is next in line for the "throne" of Dorne.

Oberyn's death sends the people into chaos, with a sudden push for revenge against the Lannisters. Three of the seven Sand Snakes — Obara, Nymeria, and Tyene — act aggressively enough that Doran feels the need to lock them up. Doran wants no harm coming to Myrcella Lannister, who is betrothed to his youngest son, Trystane.

Arianne sympathizes with the Sand Snakes and concocts a plan to rebel against her father. Here is one of many key points: Arianne does not want Myrcella to die. She wants to name Myrcella the queen of the Seven Kingdoms, pitting her against Tommen Baratheon and reclaiming a matriarchal system of power in Westeros.

Myrcella and Trystane had a different plot on the show. HBO

Unfortunately, Arianne's plan goes awry. She's caught with Myrcella, who is injured in the scuffle but overall OK. Prince Doran locks Arianne up as well, but then finally reveals a major plot twist to her.

In the books, it turns out that Doran has been scheming against the Lannisters ever since Elia's murder nearly two decades ago. He made a pact to marry Arianne to Viserys Targaryen — Daenerys' older brother. Unfortunately, Viserys died at the hands of the Dothraki before their plan could come to fruition. Now, Doran is sending his middle child, Quentyn, to Daenerys instead.

Essentially, the Martells wind up having this secret plot with the Targaryens that would mean the downfall of the Lannisters. Great! That's exactly what the people want. Arianne, the Sand Snakes, Ellaria — everyone just wants revenge on the Lannisters. And Doran is planning on giving it to them.

The show's ill-received changes

Obviously, the show did away with virtually all of this plot. Doran has only one child (Trystane) and never unveils a larger plan. Instead, we get a whole lot of "kill Myrcella!" plot.

Ellaria and three of the Sand Snakes are the only female Dornish characters we see. There is no Arianne or a plan to crown Myrcella. Instead, Ellaria rallies Oberyn's daughters behind her and they set out to kill Myrcella.

This in itself is a troubling plot. Before he died on the show, Oberyn specifically told Cersei that she should be grateful Myrcella was sent to Dorne. "We don't hurt little girls in Dorne," he said.

So the four women in the series who are wholly dedicated to Oberyn just happen to have missed this moral lesson of his? Killing Myrcella is a very poor way to honor his memory or seek vengeance for him.

People pointed out some plot holes in their scheme, as well. Poisoning her minutes before she sailed off was a strange choice. Theoretically, Jaime should have just turned the ship around and immediately outed their crimes to Doran. Instead, Jaime sailed on with Myrcella's dead body and Trystane on board.

As a counter, what would they have done if they returned? Jaime may not have been sure if Doran was in on it ... or how would they have defended themselves against the Sand Snakes?

The decision to allow Ellaria and the Sand Snakes to see Myrcella off didn't make a whole lot of sense, either. We know in the books that he's a patient man, but he had the sense to imprison the Sand Snakes — not let them roam around near children they've attempted to murder.

Who steps in between two people with weapons who just said they want to kill you? Trystane does, apparently. Helen Sloan/HBO

Then, the season-six premiere revealed that Obara and Nymeria had followed the ship all the way to King's Landing. They were able to board the boat in the King's Landing harbor and access Trystane's cabin to murder him.

Back in Dorne, Doran's trustworthy nature is once again a little baffling. He leaves himself vulnerable to Ellaria and Tyene as they walk through the Water Gardens. Then, in the blink of an eye, his bodyguard is dead and Ellaria stabs him in the chest.

No speech, no reveal about a larger plan, nada. Just a lot of blood.

Another thing fans were upset about was Areo Hotah's completely anticlimactic death. Areo is Doran's main bodyguard, and even has a point-of-view chapter in the book series. Areo is deadly with his badass weapon of choice: an enormous battle axe.

In the show, Areo's skills were made clear during season five. At one point, Doran asks Areo if he remembers how to use his weapon, since it's been awhile since there was need for it. Areo fingers the sharpened blade and assures his prince that he is ready.

Then, when Jaime and Bronn are discovered, Areo whips the ax to Jaime's throat and says, "When you were whole, it would have been a good fight." Areo's skills are on the same level as the famous Kingslayer.

Show watchers never get to see Areo in action. He's all talk, and then the season-six premiere showed Tyene stab him in the back with a tiny dagger and boom — dead. It was a pretty unsatisfying way to see this huge warrior leave the show.

The sixth season missteps

The sixth season opened with the murder of Doran and Trystane, making Ellaria's mission clear. She wanted strong women to be in charge of Dorne. This felt more in line with Arianne's story in the books, especially regarding the move toward a matriarchy.

But again, the violent streak in Ellaria and the Sand Snakes' plan is what upset fans. Everything goes back to the deaths of Elia and Oberyn. How is murdering their last-remaining family members the best way to get revenge?

The show's writing seems to emphasize how the people of Dorne are fed up with Doran and his peaceful ways.

"When was the last time you left this palace?" Ellaria asked Doran as he bled to death. "You don't know your own people, their disgust for you. Elia Martell, raped and murdered and you did nothing. Oberyn Martell, butchered, and you did nothing. You're not a Dornishman. You're not our prince."

Ellaria killed Doran very abruptly on the season six premiere. Macall B. Polay/HBO

We see the faces of Doran's other guards, impassive as they watch him die. Clearly, almost everyone else in Dorne agrees with Ellaria. Doran asks about his son with his dying breath. Ellaria responds: "Your son is weak, just like you. And weak men will never rule Dorne again."

This new take on the Dorne plot was emphasizing women's control and dominance, but generally people seemed to believe Dorne was beyond repair when it comes to character development and a compelling story.

Euron's brutal killing of two Sand Snakes met with relief

After all this, it's no surprise that fans seemed indifferent (if not happy or relieved) to see Euron kill two of the three Sand Snakes on the second episode of season seven. He stabbed Obara Sand and then propped her up on the prow of the ship, just to rub it in.

Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asbaek) killed Obara pretty easily. HBO

And then he strangled Nymeria Sand with her own whip, and left her hanging below Obara. His men captured Ellaria and Tyene (who is Ellaria's daughter), so he's presumably bringing them to Cersei as a "gift."

Nymeria's whip wasn't the smartest weapon for a sea battle. HBO

During this fight scene, and the deaths of Obara and Nymeria, the camera seemed to hold on them for just a touch longer than you'd expect. And certainly the extra shots of their bodies on the ship seemed to send a signal to viewers — "We get it, you don't like these characters. Here are there dead bodies."